Power Engineering/Process Operator - 4th Class

Get your start in a career as a power engineer with hands-on training in the Fourth Class Power Engineering/Process Operator program. Electricity and heat energy management are essential to the way we live now – power engineers are the people who make sure the lights stay on. They operate equipment for our comfort and various applications in our daily lives.

VIU’s 32-week Red Seal power engineering certificate program prepares graduates for employment as power engineers able to operate, maintain and manage industrial power and processing plants. Industry demand for power engineering course graduates is high and a power plant operator can find work in many industries, including pulp and paper mills, sawmills, the oil and gas industry, refrigeration plants, food and processing plants, hospitals, universities and commercial buildings.

The Process Operator Program

The Fourth Class Power Engineering/Process Operator Certificate Program prepares graduates for employment as power engineers, able to operate, maintain, and manage industrial power and processing plants. This full-time program includes theory and extensive training in an industry workplace practicum. Upon successful completions, graduates will have the knowledge and hands-on experience to challenge the Technical Safety BC standardized examinations for an Interprovincial Fourth Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency. The program also prepares graduates with technical knowledge required for a process operator.

All program courses must be successfully completed before certificates will be issued.

Completion Requirements

To maintain progression in the program and to graduate with the Fourth Class Power Engineering/Process Operator Certificate from VIU, students must obtain a minimum of 50% per course and a minimum program average of 65%, and must meet attendance requirements (90% attendance for coursework; 100% attendance for 480 hours of Work Practicum).

Students must meet Technical Safety BC requirements for Examinations for Certification as a Fourth Class Power Engineer.

Notes on Admission

Communication skills, good vision, manual dexterity, and decision-making are an asset.

Those with good reading and comprehension skills, basic science, mathematics, and study skills have the most success in the program.

It is suggested that to achieve higher levels in the Power Engineering profession, students must have computer skills, chemistry, and Mathematics 12.

A medical certificate may be required prior to work practicum placement. Applicants should be in good physical health, have sufficient physical strength to meet work demands (capable of lifting 20 kg/44 lbs.), good hearing and eyesight, and normal colour vision. Employers may also require a driver's license and/or criminal record check.

Enrolment in this program is limited. Students who meet or exceed the minimum admission requirements may not necessarily be admitted to the program. During the selection process, preference will be given to applicants with previous post-secondary experience, related commercial/industrial experience and superior achievement level on assessment testing.

Program Regulations

To maintain progression in the program, students must obtain a minimum grade of 50% per course and a program average of at least 65% to complete the program and receive a certificate as mandated by Technical Safety BC. Students must attend a minimum of 90% of all classes, and 100% in all lab activities, tours, and the Work Practicum.

If a student, for any reason, is unable to complete the work practicum placement provided, he/she will be required to obtain that training on their own, in a placement acceptable to the school and acceptable to BCSA, before writing Part 'B' of the Technical Safety BC 4th Class Power Engineering Standardized Examination.

Career Opportunities

Industry demand for qualified power engineers and process operators is high. Power engineers are required in many industries including: pulp and paper, sawmills, oil and gas, refrigeration plants, food processing, mines, utilities, hospitals, universities, public and commercial buildings, and other industrial and manufacturing plants. Canadian law requires Certification to work as a power engineer. The proposed program is driven by the needs of industry and meets the standards established for Interprovincial Certification.

Please note: The Standardization of Power Engineers Examination Committee (SOPEEC) and the Association of Chief Inspectors (ACI) have evaluated and updated the inter-provincial syllabus effective November 2017. To ensure student success in the program, the admission requirements have been changed.